Effect of Heating Duration at High Temperature on the Strength and Integrity of Fly Ash-Based Geopolymer Concrete

Fire is one of the most severe environmental conditions that concrete structures might be subjected to, especially in closed conduct structures, such as tunnels. Concrete in general can withstand fire but its properties degrade when exposed to fire at high temperatures. The effect of heating duration, at a high temperature, on the performance of fly ash-based geopolymer concrete is presented. Cubes of low, medium and high strength grades of geopolymer concrete that had been cured for 28 days, were exposed to a fire flame at 1000 °C for 30, 60, 90, 120, 150 and 180 min. After the fire exposure, the cubes were cooled to the ambient temperature before further testing. A visual observation was performed on the cubes to detect any colour change, cracking and spalling. The losses of mass and residual compressive strength of the cubes were recorded. The results showed that as the heating duration increased from 30 to 90 min, the compressive strength of the cubes also increased. Contrarily, the compressive strength decreased as the heating duration increased beyond 90 min indicating that the extended heating duration induced the loss of free water and decomposition of aluminosilicate products in geopolymer concrete. The evaporation of water by virtue of the heating for the extended duration, at high temperature, led to a loss in the mass of concrete. The findings suggest that geopolymer concrete was able to sustain its structural integrity without any noticeable spalling and hence, it can be classified as a fire-resistant material.